Trade & Customs

Anderson Mori & Tomotsune - The Who's Who Legal 100 2014

2013 was a year of rapid growth with the opening of three additional offices in Singapore, Nagoya and Shanghai, adding to the existing offering in Tokyo and Beijing. The summer of 2013 also saw the firm relocate its Tokyo office to larger premises following an increase in business. These new openings are aimed at meeting the increasing demand from foreign clients for Japanese legal services and from Japanese clients for engaging in business.

ANDERSON MORI & TOMOTSUNE

Banking

2

Information Technology

1

Capital Markets

1

Insurance & Reinsurance

1

Commercial Litigation

1

Life Sciences

3

Competition

4

M&A

2

Corporate Governance

2

Patents

2

Franchise

2

Patents

3

The result of a 2005 merger, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune has had great success in the Asian market. The team have represented numerous foreign corporations doing business in Japan through its subsidiaries, branches and representative offices. The growth of its presence in China aims to further assert its dominance in one of the new leading business centres of the world. Anderson Mori & Tomotsune wins our law firm of the year award in Japan and is a truly “leading” firm in the Asia-Pacific region.

KEY FACTS

Total Listings in WWL

24

Established

2005

Home jurisdiction

Japan

Total Size of firm

326

Number of partners

83

Number of offices

5

PEOPLE AND PRACTICES

The M&A team has extensive experience representing Japanese and international clients around the world. A significant number of lawyers are qualified in foreign jurisdictions, thus affirming the group’s international depth and expertise. Senior foreign counsel Piyasena Perera is “excellent at communicating with clients and peers” involved in complex and innovative M&A transactions. Osamu Hirakawa is a “fantastic corporate specialist”. His representative experience includes assisting in Vodafone’s Japan Telecom acquisition.

The firm also advises on high-profile international cartel investigations and merger control transactions. The antitrust/competition team handles work ranging from Japanese Fair Trade Commission litigation to compliance and unfair trade practices. Hideto Ishida has an “extremely good” practice dealing with issues such as price cartels and bid rigging. The “intelligent and sharp” Yusuke Nakano assists Japanese companies and individuals in antitrust cases in foreign jurisdictions.

Other notable individuals include Tetsuya Itoh for his “first-class” work in the real estate space and Taisuke Yamamoto for his “excellence” in the franchise field.

LOOKING FORWARD

With a new hire to the patent team in early 2014, the firm is looking to consolidate its expertise in its existing practice areas. It is expected that Anderson Mori & Tomotsune will retain its position as “one of the best” firms in the Asia-Pacific region.

Nominees have been selected based upon comprehensive, independent survey work with both general counsel and private practice lawyers worldwide. Only specialists who have met independent international research criteria are listed.